ering of thin linen may be interposed. A putty made
with powdered chalk and the white of egg is recommended for small
animals, though a mixture of sugar of lead and burnt alum with the
albumen is preferred by others. Another formula is spirits of camphor,
Goulard's extract, and albumen. Another recommendation is to saturate
the oakum and bandages with an adhesive solution formed with gum arabic,
dextrin, flour paste, or starch. This is advised particularly for small
animals, as is also the silicate of soda. Dextrin mixed while warm with
burnt alum and alcohol cools and solidifies into a stony consistency,
and is preferable to plaster of Paris, which is less friable and has
less solidity, besides being heavier and requiring constant additions as
it becomes older. Starch and plaster of Paris form another good
compound.

In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushion of
oakum thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the
surface and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from
chafing. Over this the splints are placed. The material for these is,
variously, pasteboard, thin wood, bark, laths, gutta-percha, strips of
thin metal, as tin or perhaps sheet iron. They should be of sufficient
length not only to cover the region of the fracture but to extend
sufficiently above and below to render the immobility more nearly
complete than in the surrounding joints. The splints, again, are covered
with cloth bandages--linen preferably--soaked in a glutinous mixture.
These bandages are to be carefully applied, with a perfect condition of
lightness. They are usually made to embrace the entire length of the leg
in order to avoid the possibility of interference with the circulation
of the extremity as well as for the prevention of chafing. They should
be rolled from the lower part of the leg upward and carefully secured
against loosening. In some instances suspensory bandages are
recommended, but except for small animals our experience does not
justify a concurrence in the recommendation.

These permanent dressings always need careful watching with reference to
their immediate effect upon the region they cover, especially during the
first days succeeding that of their application. Any manifestation of
pain, or any appearance of swelling above or below, or any odor
suggestive of suppuration should excite suspicion, and a thorough
investigation should follow without delay. The removal of the dressi